A different kind
by Pictury20
Summary: A letter arrives at the BAU and the team goes on a hunt for a serial killer with personal motive. But one of them will get in danger during the investigation... Can the others save him before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

It was just one of those days at the BAU where nothing happened. The team did paperwork to finish off the last case. It was quite in the bullpen, except for the scratching of pen on paper and the typing on the computer. When the door opened, they all hoped that somebody would come and save them from their boring work, but it was just the mailman. He walked from desk to desk handing people their letters and the team went back to work. The mailman stopped in front of Reid's desk and handed him a letter. ``This one's for you. No postmark or name on it, I found it next to the other letters.´´

Reid took the letter and opened it. There was a piece of paper in it and when he opened it, he found a letter, except the words didn't make sense.

_**Uvri SRL,**_

_**Z jvv pfl drerxvu kf tirtb dp tfuv. Z yfgv kyv tyrccvexv nrje'k kff szx wfi pfl, Ui. Ivzu. Vmve kyflxy Z czbv kf jvv pfli czkkcv sirze nfibzek. Jzetv kyzj zj fecp kyv svxzeezex, Z nzcc tfdv jkirzxyk kf kyv gfzek. Fe Alev 3iu, 12gd, Z nzcc bzcc dp wzijk mztkzd. Z'cc cvrmv r dvjjrxv jf pfl befn zk'j dv…**_

_**Jvv pfl kyve, OFOF**_

It was coded, and Reid started immediately to crack it. ``Hey kid, what's in the letter? Anything more interesting than paperwork?´´ Morgan asked from his table, clearly bored by the stack of files on his desk. ``I think anything would be more interesting than this´´ came from Emily. ``It's some kind of code, I'm not sure.´´ Reid answered.

Morgan, who decided that this was way more interesting than filling out papers, went to Reid's desk and looked at the paper in his hands. ``Well, let your genius brain work on it.´´ Reid didn't even answer, he already was busy trying to make sense out of the letters he was staring at. Emily, now curious what was going on over there came over too and looked at the letter. ``How can you make any sense out of this? It's just random letters combined into words.´´ Reid suddenly jumped up from his chair and ran to Hotch's office. ``Hey kid, what does it say?´´ Morgan yelled after him but Reid didn't stop.

``Hotch you have to see this!´´ The team leader stood up fast, because he could see the worried look on his member's face. Back in the bullpen Reid showed the letter to Hotch, who looked at him just as confused as Emily and Morgan did. ``What does it say?´´ Reid suddenly realized that the others couldn't read what his brain translated in his head. He grabbed a pen and paper and started to write down the translation of the code. When he was done he handed the paper to Hotch who read it with a growing concern on his face. ``Get the team to the conference room; we need to look into this!´´

Morgan and Emily, still confused, took the paper from Hotch and read it together.

_**Dear BAU,**_

_**I see you managed to crack my code. I hope the challenge wasn't too big for you, Dr. Reid. Even though I like to see your little brain working. Since this is only the beginning, I will come straight to the point. On June 3**__**rd**__**, 12pm, I will kill my first victim. I'll leave a message so you know it's me…**_

_**See you then, XOXO**_

They both had the same reaction as Hotch, and quickly made their way to the conference room. When JJ, Rossi and Garcia entered the room, Reid handed them copies of both, the original letter and the translation. They sat in silence for a moment until the others finished reading and looked up. ``What is this?´´ asked JJ, saying exactly what everybody else was thinking. ``I just got this code in the mail. I quickly cracked the code and…´´ ``How did you crack it? That's just a bunch of letters. It could mean anything!´´ JJ interrupted Reid's explanation.

``Actually it can't. When I looked at it, I saw that it was written like a normal letter. It was addressed to somebody, so I guessed it started with 'Dear' and the next three letters are capitalized, and the letter in 'Dear' that stands for the 'a' is the same as the second letter in the next word. It makes sense that the next word is BAU. That gave me some of the letters. I also realized that some of the sentences started with just a 'Z', and I thought it would be an 'I' which made sense regarding some of the other words. Also I realized that the combination 'kf' was in there a couple of times and considering statistics it seemed to be the word 'to'. This made me realize that the code was just the alphabet shifted. 'A' is 'R', 'B' is 'S', 'C' is 'T' and so on. This made it fairly easy to translate the code.´´

Reid talked so fast that the team could barely follow his words. After he was finished they all just looked at him, admiring and wondering about how his brain could do all of that so fast. ``What about the numbers?´´ Hotch asked.

``I'm not a hundred per cent sure about those. There are too many possibilities but I think the unsub didn't change them. The rest of the code wasn't too difficult, it was meant to be cracked fast and changing the numbers would make it too difficult to understand the message. Also the 3rd June is already over, so I think our unsub isn't interested in hiding what he did, he wants us to see his work.´´ ``Garcia, check police records of the 3rd for any murders around 12pm. Start in this area, I think this is personal. Also check the records for a code that was found with the victim.´´ Hotch ordered. Garcia left the room, but not without saying a short ``on it´´ and winking to the team.

``So, let's see what this letter tells us.´´ Hotch said after Garcia left. ``This is clearly personal. The letter was send to Reid, and it is addressed to us, so I think our unsub wants to play with us.´´ Morgan answered. ``It also seems as if the unsub knows us or at least Reid, the way he talks about his brain.´´ ``Emily's right, also the XOXO indicates a more personal relationship. Hugs and kisses… That's something you use with friends or a lover.´´ JJ added, ``if the code was meant to be cracked, what does that say about him?´´ Morgan looked at the letter again and said: ``He's not trying to outsmart us with codes. He rather wants to show off his crimes. He's looking for attention.´´ ``I don't think it's a He. It isn't written straight forward, our unsub is pointing out personal and rather unimportant things before she comes to the point. Also XOXO is statistically more often used by women than men, and more often younger than older. I think our unsub is a woman in her late 20s to early 30s.´´ Reid said. ``Well, let's wait for Garcia to find our victim and then we'll work from there.´´ Hotch closed the discussion and went to his office. Reid followed, he wanted to ask him a question. ``If this is personal shouldn't we start to look at old records of the team? Maybe we'll find something that helps us solve this…´´ ``The idea isn't bad, but it's too early, we don't have anything to go from. We'll need to see if Garcia finds anything otherwise we don't know what to search for.´´


	2. Chapter 2

Just at that moment Garcia entered the room. The look on her face clearly told that she had found something.

''When I did the search only one victim turned up that fit your description. I got the local PD to send me a copy of the letter, it's in code.''

''Thanks, I'm going to send Morgan, Rossi and Prentiss to the crime scene, get the locals to send them an officer to show them the scene. JJ and I are going to talk to the other officers to see what information we can get. Reid, you are going to work on that code, call me as soon as you found something.'' Hotch was already leaving his office while he was giving his orders.

He and JJ drove to the police station. When they arrived the local officers were already expecting them.

''This seemed like an armed raid, the victim was shot in the chest, wallet and ID missing. But we found the note, totally random letters… Maybe your guy can make something out of it.'' The officer didn't seem very hopeful.

''Who found the victim?'' JJ asked.

''One of our officers on patrol. He was checking the alley when he basically fell over the guy. He was dumped in the middle of the alley, not really hidden or anything but not in plain sight either. It's a pretty dark alley around midnight, no street lights or anything. Sooner or later somebody would have found him.''

''And where is that officer? We'd like to talk to him.'' Hotch said, more demanding then asking. He wanted answers as soon as possible.

''He's at the crime scene together with the rest of your team. I can show you pictures of the crime scene if you want to. Also, we haven't identified the guy yet.'' The officer clearly felt intimidated by Hotch, he wasn't used to having the FBI coming in checking out one of his cases, but he also liked the help. He had no idea where his investigation should go next.

''Send the files and pictures to our technical analyst, she might be able to help you.'' JJ said and followed Hotch into the room with the board and pictures on it.

Rossi, Prentiss and Morgan arrived at the crime scene at the same time Hotch and JJ entered the police building. After they talked to the officer and got all the information they needed, they looked at the crime scene.

''Our unsub wanted that guy to be found. Otherwise her letter to us wouldn't make sense and I also think this dumping site isn't chosen at random. It might appear like it, but I think that it wasn't a coincidence that a police officer on patrol found him.'' Morgan said.

''I think you're right. Also, at the time of death this area must be deserted. It's the back of a dark alley, normal people don't go here around midnight, but at day, you can see parts of this alley from the street, so somebody would have noticed the body.'' Rossi added.

''Yeah, she knew when and where to kill. Does that make the victim a victim of opportunity or did she choose him too?'' Prentiss asked, knowing that Rossi and Morgan were thinking the same thing.

''Other than that, the scene is very clean, there was no evidence left behind that could tell us anything.'' Morgan looked disappointed. He wanted this to be over as soon as possible, a killer taunting the team wasn't his favorite kind of unsub.


	3. Update

This is no chapter, just an update on why the story didn't continue...

I am so sorry for not updating anymore... I have been sick for quite a while and then school started so I was really stressed out... Now I'm back in my usual rhythm and I will start to write again... I'm probably going to post the next chapter some time next week.

If you are reading this and are waiting for the next chapter, thank you so much! Again I am so, so terribly sorry for not updating...


	4. Chapter 3

_**/I know i promised a longer chapter but i decided to make it short again... I want you to have this update now and I'm going to post another chapter later this week. Enjoy :)/**_

Back at the station, Hotch received a call from Reid: ''I cracked the code. You should really come and look at this!''

Hotch called Rossi and all of them drove back to the BAU to meet Reid in the conference room. A copy of the code was on the screen.

**Theh Hhft,**

**Rhefr, irn arnet di ffsyfd eet irn sheslht dnh srth. Ahhda iflh irn rhefe fa ayfii orhlfey ea yrrt ea ynh ieay yfdh F ceo irn! Yney'a e sinh arh irn. Irn lero dh, eet eryneiii arh tnfyh e onfih… Ahsret sing: ynh ehby ffsyfd ofii rh ardhreh irn lero, yrr.**

**Irn'ii afet rny are, LRLR**

''This time our unsub used a thirteen letter alphabet for her code. So two letters in the normal alphabet shared one letter in this one. Again I used statistics and probability to find out what this means and after I found some of the letters I recognized a pattern and was able to complete the translation.'' Reid was rambling and you could clearly tell that he was nervous about something.

''Here's the translation of the message.''

**Dear Reid**

**Bravo, you found my victim and you cracked the code. Seems like your brain is still working as good as the last time I saw you! That's a clue for you. You know me, and actually for quite a while… Second clue: the next victim will be someone you know, too.**

**You'll find out soon, XOXO**

The team looked at Reid. The whole case just got way more personal than they expected. This wouldn't be over as soon as they thought.

''I already called my mom and put her in protective custody. You guys are potential victims too. I don't have many close, personal relationships but if she 's going after somebody I know it also could mean that anybody I ever met is in danger now!''

Reid seemed pretty upset about the situation and the whole team understood. People died and this unsub made it about one of them. They were a family and now they were under attack. And it wasn't helpful at all that the unsub chose Reid, the youngest, as his opponent.

''We are going to stay together! At least teams of two, nobody is alone at any time! Reid, I know this is hard but I need you to think of anybody you know who would be able to do this. If you have a possible hit, go check it out with Garcia. JJ and Prentiss, go through old records. Focus on cases where Reid dealt with the unsub or close relatives that fit our profile. Morgan, Rossi, go to the morgue and see if our victim can tell us anything. I want you back as soon as possible. I'm going to stay with Reid and I want to hear about any possible leads immediately''

Everybody did as they were told and it got quiet in the BAU headquarter. They worked hard but none of them seemed to be able to find anything. They took a short break when Rossi and Morgan came back from the morgue just to hear that they had learned nothing new. The ME wasn't able to find anything that could have given them a clue about the unsub, only things that supported what they already knew.

The team was frustrated and decided to call it a day. There was nothing they could do, no more old cases to go through or people to check out. Hotch decided they should go home and rest. Of course they still had to stay in groups, so Rossi would spend the night with Hotch and his family, Prentiss and Garcia would sleep over at JJ's and Morgan went home with Reid. None of them really wanted to leave and go to sleep but Hotch insisted. They should clear their heads and have a fresh start tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 4

_**/I feel so bad because I'm promising you another chapter last week and then I don't post one. I am awfully sorry, but now, the promised chapter. A little longer than the last one but still not very long. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter because now school is starting again after fall vacation but I will try to start writing soon. Enjoy :)/**_

While Morgan was driving to Reid's apartment, Reid was unusually quiet. The younger agent seemed to be lost in thoughts and Morgan could tell that he was worried about something. It wasn't a big surprise, concerning the case they were working on, and Morgan decided to talk to his friend and colleague when they were at his home. The trip seemed longer due to the utter silence and Morgan was glad when they finally arrived. Reid took his shoulder bag, opened the car door and walked straight to his flat. After both the agents had entered Reid locked the door from the inside and twisted a little knob for the deadbolt. He turned around, put his bag on the living room table and pointed to the couch.

''I'll get you a blanket and pillow. There is something to eat in the fridge and there might be some beer left. Do you need anything else?''

Morgan looked at him and he saw that Reid wasn't ready to talk about it yet. He decided to wait until the next morning.

''I'm good. We should probably try to get some sleep, we need all of our strength tomorrow.''

Reid agreed and went to the bedroom to get a blanket and pillow for Morgan. When he came back the telephone rang and upon answering the phone his face changed from exhausted to surprised.

''Ethan, why are you calling?''

Morgan couldn't hear the answer and looking at Reid he waited for an explanation or any sign at all. He didn't know who Ethan was, but since Reid seemed to know him, he should warn him about the unsub.

''Hey Reid, it's Ethan!''

''Ethan, why are you calling?''

Reid was surprised by the call. This wasn't a good time for old friends to redevelop their relationship.

''Just to hear from you. Are you still a profiler at the BAU?''

''Yeah. Umm, you know, this isn't a good time to call me, but since you already did, there is something I should tell you about.''

''Don't you mean someone?''

The voice on the other side of the phone had changed. It now was a female voice, sounding rather arrogant and vicious.

Reid almost dropped the phone and looked at Morgan with terror in his eyes. The older agent, who had no idea what was going on came closer to listen to what was on the phone.

''Hi sweetie. Oh, I'm sorry, I'll bet you weren't expecting me to call. I hope I didn't scare you.''

Reid wasn't able to say anything and Morgan just started to realize who was calling.

''You are so quiet, sweetie. What happened? Did you suddenly loose your voice or are you trying to figure out who I really am. By the way I'm awfully sorry for what happened to the other guy. I had to get your attention.''

''What do you want?''

Reid's voice trembled just a little bit, not enough to be heard over the phone, but enough for Morgan to worry if this was too much for his friend.

''I just want you to listen. Just once you shouldn't be the one talking. Just once I want to be the one who gets the attention.''

Her voice was getting louder and louder until she was almost screaming. But then suddenly she was calm again.

''I'm sorry. I forgot you didn't like screaming. It reminds you of your mothers bad days. Now back to the reason why I'm calling. You might have guessed it by now but I'm planning on killing your little friend Ethan over here.''

Now every last bit of color was wiped out of Reid's face and his hands were shaking. Morgan wanted to help him but he also knew that this was something Reid had to do. Any interference by anybody could set off the unsub.

''Don't... Please, let's talk about it. I can help you. I'd do anything if you let Ethan out of it. He has nothing to do wi...''

''You're doing it again! You need to learn how to shut up! You just keep talking, no matter what is happening around you! And you always seem so smart with your facts and statistics. Trying to impress me, aren't you? Well I'm not impressed! I'm bored! That's why I started this game. Because I wanted to have some fun. So I'm going to sit here and listen to your reaction when I do this.''

Reid dropped the phone and screamed 'NO!' but it couldn't change the loud Bang! on the other end of the phone line.

''I'm sorry sweetie, but these are the rules of the game. See you soon.''

The long beep from the telephone was the only thing one could hear since both Reid and Morgan were paralyzed from shock.


	6. Chapter 5

**/I finally got around to update the story. So sorry for the long wait. I've been busy and forgot about it. I hope this doesn't happen again. If so, I apologize up front. Btw, please don't kill me for any grammar or spelling mistakes. I'm not a native speaker and I tried my very best. Now enjoy the story./**

It wasn't very hard for Garcia to find out where Ethan stayed during his visit, and soon after Morgan called her, he and Reid were on their way to his hotel. On the ride there Morgan called Hotch and informed him about what just happened. The team arrived almost at the same time and everyone stormed inside the building. Reid wasn't able to say anything. When he saw Ethans body in a pool of blood, the last bit of color in his face faded and he turned around and left the room. Morgan went after him after a small nod to Hotch. He had been with Reid during the phone conversation so he could imagine what Reid was thinking.

''Hey kid...''

''Don't! There isn't anything you could say that hasn't run through my head and it doesn't matter anyway. This is my fault. Ethan wouldn't be dead if he hadn't been my friend.''

''That is not true. And you know that. The Unsub chose him not you, and you didn't pull the trigger.''

Morgan tried to convince Reid but the younger Agent looked at him with doubt in his eyes.

''I might as well have! It wouldn't make a difference...''

''Stop right there. Reid, it does make a difference! You aren't a killer. And you are going to stop that bitch. We'll help you, but we need you at your best. As far as I know not even you can turn back time so let's get this job done.''

Reid nodded and reentered the hotel room next to Morgan who exchanged a look with Hotch and Rossi. They started to look for a note or some kind of clue to what's going to be the unsubs next move.

''Guys, I found something.''

Emily hold up a piece of paper that she found under the pillow of the bed.

She handed it to Hotch and, after a short glance at it, he handed it to Reid, knowing that he would be the only one able to crack the code.

**3/16 9/10/18/8**

**18 2/6/13/15/2/24/24/23 2/26 11/3/9/9/23 2/4/3/15/13 13/16/48/11.**

**18 8/3/1/13 19/2/1/13 13/3 22/18/24/24 5/10/3/5/24/10 4/15/13 18/13 11/10/10/26/11 24/18/22/10 13/16/10 3/1/24/23 19/2/23 18 14/10/13 23/3/15/9 2/13/13/10/1/13/18/7/1.**

**23/3/15 18/14/1/3/9/10/8 26/10 12/3/9 13/7 24/3/1/14. 4/15/13 16/3/19 2/4/3/15/13 19/10 26/10/10/13 1/3/19?**

**18/13 19/3/15/24/8 4/10 12/15/1, 8/3/1/13 23/3/15 13/16/18/1/22?**

**18/24/24 14/18/17/10 23/3/15 2 6/2/24/24.**

**24/3/17/10, 26/10. 21/3/21/3**

''I'll get on it.''

Reid turned around and wanted to leave when Hotch stopped him.

''Go to the station. We can handle the scene, and you should concentrate on that. I'll get JJ to drive you.''

JJ understood and left with the young genius. They didn't exchange a word on their ride back because Reid was so focused on the piece of paper. He just stared at it as if he seemed to wait for the numbers to turn themselves into something else. As soon as they reached the station Reid went to a quiet room and started writing things down. JJ went to the stations kitchen to get some coffee for the two of them.

After a couple of hours the team came back from the crime scene. Reid still hadn't cracked the code and he seemed to grow more frustated by the minute. Then suddenly he got up to leave.

''Where are you going?''

Hotch sounded worried and Reid remembered that they weren't to go anywhere alone.

''I just need to clear my head. I can't solve this, my mind is running in circles.''

''I'll come with you.''

Morgan started to get up but Reid looked at him.

''I won't leave the station. I just need some peace and quiet to get a new perspective.''

Hotch nodded.

''Just stay close and tell us if you leave. You know that everybody's a possible target.''

''Sure thing.''

Reid left and the team started going through crime scene photos and other records that Garcia send over. A while later Emily let out a curse.

''Goddammit. Hotch, we have a problem.''

Emily hold up a piece of paper, that had Reids handwriting on it.

''He already cracked the code, and I think he didn't leave to just clear his head.''

Morgan got up and looked around the entire police station but Reid was no where to be seen. He tried to call him but the young Agent didn't answer his cell.


End file.
